PRE-GAME RANT

So a couple of bits of news to get out of the way for the game day thread… one, Jordan Eberle is going to the All Star game! Normally I wouldn’t be too excited.. because the All Star game is crap. But it will give me reason to watch it. It’ll give opportunity for more showcasing of our talent here. I wish we had Hall or Nuge there too. The other bit of news is that the Nuge will NOT be at the All Star weekend. Oh well, no big deal. Also, if you hadn’t heard it, apparently the Oilers are going to very likely extend Steve Tambellini’s contract soon. That is disappointing, but I have been wondering if Katz, Lowe and Tambellini all had planned on tanking for at least this long ahead of time and decided that nothing would steer them off course. Are they here by design or by incompetence? It sure would be nice to know that for sure.

Anyways, tonights game will likely be unwatchable. I will watch it, because I am masochistic.

PRE-GAME RANT

Hooray! A team that is slumping almost as bad as we are. Half a season to go, but the Nurse Sharks are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2002/2003. If anyone can rekindle their confidence, the therapeutic Oilers may be just what the psychologist ordered. The Sharks can clinch a sweep of the season series with the Oilers tonight if they can win at home.

Sounds like there will be no lineup changes from the Stars game, where the Oilers played good hockey but came up short. I’d blame the disallowed goal, but we weren’t the only team it happened to…

PRE-GAME RANT

It feels like we already had the Christmas break since our last game… four days off is an eternity! The Oilers are of course fresh off a hot win (6-3 over the Blue Jackets), so nothing like four days off to completely cool off a team. Both teams are 6-3-1 in their last 10. The Sharks have owned the series so far, spanking the Oilers 6-1 for the first meeting, back in October, and then winning 4-3 in November. Hopefully the Oilers continue the improvement vs. the Sharks though and win tonight. Tom Renney is promising playoffs, and he’s going to need all the help he can get.

PRE-GAME RANT

Sorry for the late GDT, but today has been a busy, but very productive, day for me with Christmas shopping and acquiring a bed from one Mr. Trogdor and his wife. The Oil are riding a high after beating the Avalanche on Thursday. It was one of the better games I’ve seen all year, despite the Oilers being outshot 28-11 by period 2, and 37-24 overall. I thought the Oilers put forth a very honest effort in the defensive zone and were rewarded with the win. Gerber had some obvious rust at the NHL level, and played “hot potato” a few times tonight (his own words), but he was decent in net. The line of Hall, Horcoff and Eberle was magical yet again, as well.

My brain says the Oilers are going to get hammered tonight, but I’ll go with the heart prediction of 5-2 for the Oilers here.

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